The Five Major Cuisines of China

Hey everyone, it's Mikey Chen. Lao Tzu once said, Governing a big country is like cooking a small dish, illustrating that the highest principles of every action or thought corresponds to the Tao. The dietary and culinary principles, once exercised to the optimum, also encompass paramount principles governing heaven and earth. So yeah, what that means is, even Lao Tzu was a foodie. Now I love Chinese cuisine the most, and of course, I might be a little biased, but I think what makes Chinese cuisine really special is that if you travel across China, you will find different dishes, different food items as you travel across each single province. Of course, China has enjoyed a rather long history of development in culinary arts, and has formed several distinct regional styles which have been passed down through generations of master chefs. So in this video, I want to introduce you guys to the five regions of China where the most influential Chinese cuisines come from. Number one, Sichuan cuisine. This is the favorite type of cuisine for spice lovers such as myself. Also, let me know in the comments below if you love spicy food as much as I do. Now, Sichuan cuisine carries strong local characteristics and mainly comprises of ingredients from Chongqing, Chengdu, northern and southern Sichuan regions. Sichuan cuisine employs close to 40 different techniques in its preparation, including but not limited to braising, basting, dry steaming, oil dripping, and different kinds of frying, including stir fry, pan fry, deep fry, quick fry, dry stir fry, and soft fry. Sichuan cuisine pays particular attention to balancing the flavors and regards flavor as its foundation. The six basic flavors of Sichuan cuisine are tingly spicy, hot spicy, sweet, salty, tangy, and bitter. More flavors are produced through the combination of two or more of the basic flavors which can achieve 24 basic flavors, the most among all Chinese cuisines. Number two, Shandong cuisine. Shandong cuisine, also called Luwei or Lu cuisine, is the earliest and most influential cuisine in China. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, many royal courtiers came from Shandong province to the imperial palace and with them came their recipes, and their mom's recipes, and their grandma's recipes. Eventually, Shandong dishes rose to ultimate recognition in Beijing, which was the capital of several coexisting dynasties at the time. Beijing had no cuisine to call its own since most of the chefs in the king's imperial kitchen were Shandong master chefs. During this period, Shandong cuisine enjoyed great achievements inside the imperial kitchen. It has the most variety of food styles and cooking methods, and its dishes are known for their salty, savory flavor as well as tender and crispy textures. Shandong is situated on the Shandong peninsula, and because it lies along the Yellow Sea with rich inland plains and four very distinctive seasons, seafood, freshwater produce, grains, poultry, fruits and vegetables, wild birds and animals are abundant. Shandong chefs are well-rounded in their skills and are famous for their bao and ta methods of cooking. Bao is a quick stir-fry in high heat, and like the scholar Yuan Mu from the Qing dynasty said, quick stir-fry the food in boiling oil, add in the spices, and it's done. If it's extremely crispy, then it's done right. Bao is usually done instantaneously. The nutrients are well-preserved, and the food is light and not greasy. Ta is a unique cooking method in Shandong. The main ingredients are spiced and starched, and then ta fried and simmered in soup or sauce. For example, Guo Ta Dou Fu or Wok Ta Tofu is a very traditional and popular Shandong dish. Number three, my sort of nemesis, Cantonese cuisine. This is probably the most popular type of Chinese food here in the US, as there are many Cantonese or Cantonese-influenced restaurants here. And sorry, this is, like I said, probably my least favorite cuisine, because Cantonese dishes have the lightest taste compared with other Chinese cuisines, and I'm a very sauce-heavy, spicy, meat-in-every-single-dish type of guy. You know, maybe I should get a t-shirt made that says that. Anyway, Cantonese cuisine is known for its wide use of fresh ingredients and creativity. Cantonese chefs are great at adjusting dishes according to seasonal and climatic changes. For example, Cantonese summer and fall dishes taste lighter, while the winter and spring dishes are richer and zestier. Cantonese cuisine originates from Guangdong province and is made up of cuisines from three principal areas, Guangzhou, Chaozhou, and Dongjiang. Since the Han and Wei dynasty, Guangzhou, also called Canton, has been a major port city in southern China. It is situated in the subtropics bordering on the South China Sea, where rainfall is abundant and the area is rich in produce, fresh seafood, and delicacies year-round, which helped to shape the freshness and natural light flavoring that Cantonese cuisine is known for. Number 4, Huayang Cuisine. The Huayang style of cooking emphasizes material selection and uses more sugar than other Chinese cuisines. It is known for its meticulous preparation process and fine balance between rich flavor and pure taste. Huayang cuisine focuses on preserving the original flavors of the produce and specializes in braising, stewing, roasting, and boiling. These methods bring out the original flavor of the ingredients. Huayang dishes borrow fresh, crispy, and tender qualities from southern China and incorporate savory color and richness from the north. As a result, this cuisine is well-liked by both southerners and northerners, except for me because I find the dishes way too sweet. But soup dumplings, that I like. Huayang cuisine is derived from the native cooking styles of the regions surrounding the lower reaches of the Huai and Yangtze River, hence the name, and centers on the cities of Yangzhou and Huai'an in Jiangsu Province. It originated in the early Qin Dynasty and gained national fame during the Sui Dynasty and Tang Dynasty. Huayang cuisine has had a profound impact on the culinary culture in Suzhou, Zhejiang, Anhui, and Shanghai. All of which quickly took on their own characteristics. And finally, Number 5, Northeastern Cuisine. The cuisine of northeastern China refers to the cuisines of Jilin, Liaoning, and Heilongjiang Provinces, and it has been well-known since ancient times. It originated from the Qin Dynasty during the early 12th century. Due to the extremely cold weather in the region, people are accustomed to eating temperature-wise very hot food. And so cooking techniques such as casserole, hot pot, and roasting were developed. Northeastern cuisine uses native crops of its mountainous land and is famed for its wild game dishes like rabbits and boar. Knife skills and command of fire and fire temperature are important in its chef's training. Cooking techniques make use of quick stir-fry over high heat, stir-fry over low heat, stewing, barbecuing, glazing, and so on. Its dishes are tender, but not rare. Well done, but not tough. Northeastern recipes are typically very rich, and the dishes are full of sauce, flavor, and very substantial. So there you go, guys. Those are the five regions where the most influential Chinese cuisines come from. If I had to rank my favorites, it would be Sichuan, Shandong, Northeast, Huayang, and you know, Cantonese, I guess. And before you hate on me for not liking Cantonese food, let me explain why. I'm a rice man. I love my rice. I enjoy it. I enjoy it with all my Chinese dishes. But when I eat Cantonese food, it's almost like I don't really need the rice because the flavors are so light and most of the dishes are not very saucy. Sometimes I have trouble even finishing one little bowl of rice when eating Cantonese food. And that's really rare for me because typically I polish like maybe four or five bowls. And here's the other thing. I come from Northern China where there's meat in every single dish. And I think having Cantonese food for the first time was the first time I really had greens without any meat inside because we'll eat greens in Northern China, of course, but we'll, you know, cook meat with them. And I'm a very value conscious person. So when I go to a Cantonese place and I order a plate of greens and it has no meat, but they still charge me $14, $15. Yeah, that's not acceptable to me. But those are my reasons and I'm standing by them. So let me know if you agree or disagree. And let me know how you would rank these cuisines in order from your favorites. If you like this video, please give it a like, give it a share and, you know, follow me on Facebook. That's always fun. And my Instagram, again, full of food. All the information is in my description box. Thank you all so much for watching. See you later.